How Shadowhunters' Emeraude Toubia Is Bringing Her Latina Heritage to Her Demon-Fighting Character Isabelle

And why you can totally kick butt in high heels.

“This is more than what I’ve dreamed of,” admits Emeraude Toubia of her role as Isabelle on the new Freeform show, Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments. The Texas-born actress got her start on Spanish-langauge shows, including a string of telenovelas in Miami, before she tried her luck in Los Angeles. “Sometimes you have dreams and you want just a little role, then you get this lead role on a show and it’s a blessing,” she says. “It’s more than a dream come true.”

Bringing Isabelle to the small screen is a task Emeraude doesn’t take lightly. Not only does she want to make fans of Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series proud, but, as she pointed out to Teen Vogue, “this character wasn’t written for a Latina, so I feel a huge responsibility to represent Latinas in a great way. Isabelle could be a role model to girls in general, and especially Latin girls who want to look up to someone.”

We caught up with Emeraude to talk about what it means to bring Isabelle to life (high heels and all), how she and Katherine McNamara bond, and why Dominic Sherwood might just be one of the hardest people to film a scene with. And just like her character, this actress is smart, kind, and definitely one to keep an eye out for.

Teen Vogue: Had you read the book before signing onto Shadowhunters?

Emeraude Toubia: I did not, but as soon as I got the role, I read the first book. The characters that Cassandra Clare created are so great and I understand why people become so connected to the books and the characters. Even though it takes place in a fantasy world, it talks about relationships: between a mom and a dad, a mom and a daughter, between brothers. It talks about your first love, your first kiss — it’s very relatable to people who live in real life and read the books.

TV: Is there anything you changed or kept true to form in regards to the books?

ET: We want to keep fans on their feet, and we want to bring new fans to the show. We’re staying true to the books, but there’s going to be twists and turns, and the TV show will go places the books never went to. There’s this alternate universe that they all go to…there’s a lot of stuff that I think the fans are going to enjoy. Watching the show is like reading a side book. I’m a fan of the books now, and I’d love to watch the show because it stays true to the characters.

TV: What's your favorite memory from set?

ET: We had a little family like brothers and sisters on set. I heard that doesn’t really happen a lot so we’re lucky. And they're all big pranksters. Dominic Sherwood would always tell me a joke right before it was my take or my close up. He’d say a funny joke and I couldn’t stop laughing even after they said “action.” I’d get so mad at him like, “Why are you doing this to me?” The director would have to come and tell us, “please, guys, concentrate.”

TV: How have you and Katherine McNamara bonded?

ET: Katherine is so sweet. She’s so nice. But at the same time, we’re very different, so I think that’s why we get along so well. I kind of feel like her older sister, and it’s really nice that we bond every time we do press. When we’re in New York, we have sleepovers together. She comes over to my hotel room and we eat, and gossip, and talk about things. Before we know it, we fell asleep.

TV: Are you and Isabelle similar in any way?

ET: I’m half Mexican and half Lebanese, and we’re very close to our families. I’m very close to my parents and my grandma. Isabelle’s family is everything to her. Her mom, her brother…she’s selfless and willing to risk her life to save her brother. And women in general love to wear makeup and dress up and look great, but Isabelle’s much more than that. She fights in high heels and designer clothing, but she knows that there’s much more to life than looking pretty and physical beauty.

TV: As a Latina and a Middle Easterner and a woman of mixed heritage in Hollywood, you have a lot of identities. How do you navigate that in a culture that can be very narrow-minded when it comes to certain ideals?

ET: I feel very proud of where I came from. I feel very proud of my family, so I own it. I try to be the best version of me that I can be, whether it’s acting or on a personal level.

One thing that makes me happy is there are a lot of fans that write to me that live in and outside of the states that say, “I watch TV and can’t relate to anybody, but Isabelle is one of my favorite characters and I’m so happy that you were chosen because I can relate to you.” They can relate because they have the same dreams, or because they’re Latin, or because they’re Middle Eastern, or because of this or that. That’s what keeps me going and motivates me.

I feel now with all these reality shows on TV, girls are confused about what is the right role model. There are a lot of girls fighting on TV, and girls probably wonder, “Am I supposed to be mean with my friends at school or be a bully?” I was bullied in middle school, so I think we need more girls on TV to be positive role models — and I’m so happy that’s happening.

TV: Is there anything that helped you overcome bullying?_

ET: I remember in middle school and high school being so concerned with what everybody else thought. I was trying to be someone I wasn’t. I wish I could’ve just let it slide and not cared about it. I think I was trying to be someone I wasn’t. If someone doesn’t like you, you don’t have to be mean to them. Whatever people tell you, don’t take it to heart. Just be the bigger person, let it slide, and find something every day that makes you happy.